Many vehicles are equipped with energy absorbing bumpers which protect the vehicle and its occupants from low speed collisions and which reduce the potential damage of high speed collisions. However, when such a vehicle is carrying or towing a trailing device, such as a trailer mounted to the vehicle by a trailer hitch, neither the trailing device nor the vehicle or its occupants are protected by the energy absorbing bumper. Thus, even a small impact on the trailing device not only can damage the trailing device, but also the force of such an impact is transferred directly to the vehicle, even if the vehicle has an energy absorbing bumper.
Thus, the need exists to take advantage of the protection afforded by an energy absorbing bumper when attaching a trailing device to a vehicle.